Living without a car: Portland? Salem? Corvallis? (rentals, condos)

[rainwalking]

Hi. I'm considering a recon trip to Oregon for a possible move.

I'm looking for lots of trees in town (shady streets and neighborhoods) and enough amenities within walking or biking distance so I wouldn't need a car. For example, groceries, health food store, farmers market, parks, trails, and post office within a mile or two. A coffee shop with live music and open mike nights would be great, but I don't need bars, clubs, or hip nightlife.

I like clouds and rain. I work online from home, so I'd bring my own income. For housing, I'd rent a studio, guest house, or small cottage. Not looking to buy right now.

My first thought was Portland, but are Salem and Corvallis also good for car-free living? What are the rental options in their central neighborhoods? And how do they compare with Portland on lushness/trees/shade?

If Portland is my best bet, I'll focus there, but if there are smaller places to consider, I'd appreciate any info.

[hamellr]

Portland is more ahead of the curve for bicycle friendliness, but Salem and Corvallis are both getting there and I'd say are far ahead of other cities their size.

[Silverfall]

Commerical and Chemeketa are designated sharrows downtown and Salem is getting there. I do think for a cities our our size Corvallis and Salem are both good on that front.

Treed neighborhoods around the core would be Fairmount Hills, Bush Park, Capital Park, and Grant. Capital Park is probably the most treed of those.

Coffee shops with local music, etc would be Coffee House Cafe, which also has Emerge Oregon once a month (a place for few artists to show their art). Clockworks has open mic nights every Wed and lots of stuff going. I like both of those places.

First Wednesdays and the Pub Crawl are both once a month.

The health food store (LifeSource) would be problematic if you didn't live in Bush Park or Fairmount. It's off a part of commercial that isn't super bike friendly, otherwise there is a Safeway off of 12th street in the downtown core.

Parks and Trails...Minto Brown has nice trails, and riding around Riverfront Park and over the river to Wallace Marine Park is nice, but I wouldn't call our trails extensive by any means. Portland has Forest Park but I can't remember if mountain bikes are allowed or not. I haven't lived in PDX for 10 years so I'm not sure about that. Other than Forest Park I wouldn't say that Portland has extensive trails either. Most people get their trail fix, well...out on the trails.

In Salem the post office is off 25th and state so it would be a straight shot from most of the central neighborhoods.

The farmer's market runs May-Oct-ish downtown Wed and Sundays. There is a year round fresh produce place off 12th just outside the Bush Park neighborhood.

As I've been writing, I think Bush Park would be your best bet to get you close to Lifesource, then Capital Park would be a good second.

I like Salem, and I like Portland but they are very different. Salem is a sleepy town so if you are looking for vibrant energy Salem isn't that. If you like slow paced life, then Salem might be a good fit for you.

[oregonbirder]

Originally Posted by rainwalking

Hi. I'm considering a recon trip to Oregon for a possible move.

I'm looking for lots of trees in town (shady streets and neighborhoods) and enough amenities within walking or biking distance so I wouldn't need a car. For example, groceries, health food store, farmers market, parks, trails, and post office within a mile or two. A coffee shop with live music and open mike nights would be great, but I don't need bars, clubs, or hip nightlife..

Portland or Corvallis, Salem is not pedestrian friendly at all and the bus system is sub-par. Biking might work if you can haul groceries but the drivers are pretty aggresive and have a nifty habit of pretending not to see peds and bikes

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by oregonbirder

Portland or Corvallis, Salem is not pedestrian friendly at all and the bus system is sub-par. Biking might work if you can haul groceries but the drivers are pretty aggresive and have a nifty habit of pretending not to see peds and bikes

Really? I find the drivers here lack any kind of aggressive driving style, which quite frankly is frustrating sometimes.

I have walked all over downtown and from 25th to downtown easily. I would agree that some of the other areas of Salem aren't pedestrian friendly, but have to disagree on the core being unfriendly. We must have different definitions of that.

I do assume that Corvallis has a better bus system due to OSU, but I honestly don't know since I don't take the bus.

[Zombiestare]

Its pretty easy to live in Corvallis without a car. Everything you mentioned is all within a few miles of downtown. I mostly just walk the distance.

However, rentals in the area you would want to live are going to be hard to come by. There have been some recent articles in the news about how OSU is overflowing so there are no rental vacancies.

There are more trees in Corvallis, but you'd probably like the Pearl District in Portland. Go to walkscore.com & I think its listed as one of the top 10 walkable neighborhoods. Close to the waterfront for trails, etc.

[rainwalking]

Thank you all for the helpful tips.

Silverfall, how are the rental options for small places in Bush Park and Capital Park? Also, are any of the treed neighborhoods you mentioned near the river? Just curious. A walkable and shady area near the river would be great.

Zombiestare, thanks for the Corvallis info. I've read about Portland's Pearl District among others. My only hesitation about Portland is its size, as I would be moving from a small town. But if the vibe is right, that's what will matter most. I lean toward sleepy and quiet, but vibrant might work too.

Mainly I'm looking for the PNW climate (clouds, rain, trees) and easy access to things. That includes PDX for occasional flights. Obviously Portland would be great for that, and Salem isn't too far.

Sounds like my recon trip will need to include at least Portland, Salem, and maybe Corvallis so I can see for myself. All of this info will help me narrow my focus a little.

Thanks again.

[Silverfall]

There are some condos on the river and you could rent a condo in the Meridian which has Willamette River views if you wanted.

Mill Creek runs through Capital Park but not the Bush Park neighborhood. Some of Grant sits on Mill Creek as well. Capital Park would have more small cottage options since that is what dominates that neighborhood, but rentals in either neighborhood tend to go fairly quickly.

There aren't any neighborhoods on the Willamette River around the downtown core. The north part of the river is the industrial section and takes up the riverfront land, and to the south is Minto Brown Island and Park, which is part park, part owned by by a business.

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

Portland and Corvallis would be the best bets. Salem has some bicycle infrastructure, too, but the mode-share is much lower as automobile reliance predominates there.

In Corvallis you could get anywhere you needed to go on bike or foot. No mass transport needed.

In Portland, you would have a larger territory that is amenable to bike/mass transit combos, something Portland is nicely set up for.

P.S. Though Portland is bike-friendly overall, there are some specific spots in the metro area that are not so much so. The Pearl District is one of them. It's a nice place to walk, but a difficult place to cycle.

[rainwalking]

Thank you, Brenda-by-the-sea. That's great to know about Corvallis. Maybe I would just plan to move there in summer to beat the college students to the rentals. Then again, I'm twice their age, so maybe I'd be looking in other (quieter?) parts of town anyway.

How do people get from Corvallis to PDX? I know there's at least one airport shuttle service. Is that the best way? I fly once or twice a year.

And is Corvallis' weather/climate similar to Portland's?